Businesses in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry have their plates full with a little bit of everything. They’re tasked with finding work, negotiating contracts, recruiting teams, managing project deadlines—and they’re doing a lot of hands-on work themselves on top of it all.
While most small to medium-size business (SMB) owners and managers in the AEC industry gladly accept these responsibilities as part of their jobs, the Great Resignation Talent Crisis is currently making it harder than ever to recruit and retain the top talent that AEC businesses require to meet their contractual obligations.
Fortunately, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. According to recent studies from Hinge Research Institute, the talent crisis has a lot to do with a “culture clash” between mid-career workers and the leaders in charge of their businesses. The good news is that SMB AEC companies are well-positioned to adopt strategic mindset shifts and strategies to overcome the culture clash—and by doing so, they can achieve competitive advantages over larger firms to survive and thrive during The Great Resignation.
Overview
According to the Hinge Research Institute study, “Navigating the Mid-Career Talent Crisis,” the most likely workers to leave their jobs in 2021 were mid-career employees between the ages of 30 and 45. In fact, almost 30% of the employees in this demographic either quit or changed their jobs in 2021—and a third of those who left didn’t even have another job on the table.
The AEC industry has seen so many mid-career employees leave their jobs that AEC firm owners and managers are turning down contracts because they don’t have enough employees to complete onsite work. Furthermore, many AEC business owners wonder if there will be anyone willing or interested in taking over their business so they can eventually retire.
In the study, “CULTURE CLASH: The Employee Experience Problem And How to Fix It,” Hinge found three key workplace culture trends that are driving the onslaught of resignations.
- The vast majority of employees aren’t happy with the culture at their workplaces.
- Mid-career workers were the most likely to be unsatisfied with their workplace culture.
- Seasoned leadership and business owners are the most likely to be satisfied with their workplace culture.
Diving Into the Details: How Bad Is the Talent Crisis?
In the construction and engineering industries specifically, approximately 80% of employees are either “dissatisfied” or “on-the-fence” when it comes to company culture:
Beyond these findings, the culture clash study also revealed that the employees who are leaving their jobs are the same ones that are not happy with workplace culture. The following chart shows that the more dissatisfied employees are with culture, the more likely they are to seek a change of employment.
As the following chart shows, 53.3% of employees who quit their jobs in the past year did so because they “wanted a better company culture.”
The Most Actionable Talent Crisis Finding
Perhaps the most actionable finding in the culture clash study is the fact that most business leaders and business owners do not know that the culture clash between mid-level employees and top management is the root cause of the resignations and recruitment challenges.
Mindset Shifts and Strategies
The report has identified the following “mindset shifts” and strategies that are helping small to medium-sized AEC businesses:
- Overcome culture clash-related challenges;
- Realize their recruitment value as SMBs; and
- Promote themselves as highly attractive places to work during The Great Resignation Culture Clash.
Mindset Shift 1
Many SMB AEC businesses incorrectly see themselves as “small businesses with nothing to offer.” They feel like they cannot compete with the higher salaries, better benefits, and corporate advancement opportunities found at the largest A/E/C firms. However, this could not be further than the truth—especially during the Culture Clash.
Anyone who has worked at large AEC firms knows that high turnover is a continual problem for these organizations—and The Great Resignation Culture Clash is only making the situation worse. This is understandable when you consider that bigger organizations have a bigger gap and less communication between management and mid-level employees. In other words, the bigger the organization, the bigger the culture clash.
Mindset Shift 2
New employees want to use all of the latest technology. However, many AEC businesses haven’t adopted any new technology in decades—and many don’t have the tech skills required to train new recruits on how to use new technology when they adopt it.
Instead of seeing this lack of technology and tech skills as a negative, AEC firms should see it as a hiring opportunity for new graduates with the right tech skills. For example, businesses can advertise that they are looking for a “young gun” who knows the latest technology and wants to maximize his or her skills by joining a team of experienced industry veterans.
The other part of this mindset shift requires AEC business owners to realize the true value of their deep knowledge, skills and expertise. Those who are new to the AEC industry want to work alongside industry experts to learn from them. Therefore, A/E/C business owners should make a point of highlighting their expertise—and their willingness to pass on that expertise—to potential new hires.
Mindset Shift 3
A recent report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found college enrollment rates are dropping at unprecedented levels. Total enrollment for undergraduate and graduate students decreased by 4.1% (equal to approximately 685,000 students) in spring 2022 compared to spring 2021.
Decreasing college enrollment represents an enormous recruitment opportunity for AEC businesses—especially smaller firms. This is because of two important reasons:
- AEC industry positions offer excellent pay and job security to young people entering the workforce; and
- AEC careers do not require a college degree, which makes them attractive to an increasing number of smart individuals who have chosen not to pursue college.
In this context, smaller AEC firms are even more attractive to those without college degrees because they offer an opportunity for new hires to apprentice closely with the owner, learn the business well and potentially take over the company after the owner retires.
A Clear Path of Action for Small to Medium-Size AEC Businesses
SMB AEC businesses benefit from distinct advantages over larger AEC firms when it comes to navigating the worst of The Great Resignation Culture Clash and Talent Crisis. By implementing mindset shifts and strategies, SMBs can overcome the worst of their recruitment and retainment challenges.
As a final piece of advice, SMB AEC businesses should use the following three-step approach to improve hiring and retainment efforts during the culture clash:
- Conduct an internal study and interview employees.
- Use the information to overcome the culture clash.
- Publicly showcase the improvements in recruitment efforts.
These steps will illuminate a clear path of action for building the reputation of being an attractive place for mid-career employees to work—which, ultimately, will inspire workers to knock on the door with minimal to no job posts and advertising.
